Flora, TX
N 32° 33.178 W 095° 27.693
15S E 268869 N 3604403
A Texas Historical Marker in front of homes at 19616 County Rd 431, notes this as the site of the early Smith County town of Flora, of which nothing remains but memories.
Waymark Code: WMVW28
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/01/2017
Views: 1
The Handbook of Texas Online (see Related Web Page) mentions Flora among the towns that were flourishing in the 1850s, when Smith County was just a few years old, but given its small size and short lived, it doesn't warrant its own entry in the Handbook. The 2001 Texas Historical Marker provides some background:
James K. Beene settled in this area in 1845 and established a post office called Flora in 1849. John and Delila Austin and their daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Willis Jones, bought adjacent farms in 1850. Flora community grew up around their properties on the Dallas-Shreveport Road. By 1853, James Monroe Luckey had opened Flora's first store and Carmel Baptist Church was organized nearby. The first sale of a town lot in Flora was recorded in 1855. By 1860 the town boasted three doctors, two blacksmiths, a Masonic lodge and three stores. The hardships of the Civil War years brought about the decline of the thriving community. By 1871 all the businesses were gone, the Masonic lodge had moved to Garden Valley, and Flora became a ghost town.
Reason for Abandonment: Economic
Date Abandoned: 01/01/1871
Related Web Page: [Web Link]
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